The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for a left knee post-operative left medial meniscectomy with arthritis, other than instability is denied. The current diagnosis of the Veteran's left knee disability more closely warrants the already assigned 20 percent evaluation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s most recent VA examination showed cartilage, semilunar, dislocated, with frequent episodes of 'locking', pain, and effusion into the joint with flexion. However, his current evaluation is based on this condition as it meets the criteria for a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5258.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee post-operative left medial meniscectomy with arthritis, osteoarthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 6, 2018
- Citation
- 18156089
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18156089.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 40% rating for osteoarthritis of the left knee, effective July 1, 2009, and denied an increased rating in excess of 40% for the same condition as well as entitlement to TDIU.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for osteoarthritis of the left knee as a secondary condition to the Veteran's already service-connected left knee disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine herniated nucleus pulposus L3-4 with intervertebral disc syndrome, left knee osteoarthritis, and right knee osteoarthritis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left knee due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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